Upstream signal quality monitoring
a signal quality and monitoring technology, applied in the field of upstream signal quality monitoring, can solve the problems of increasing the crowded upstream path of the catv, false prioritization of nodes, and inconvenient installation of monitoring devices to every cmt downstream thereof,
Active Publication Date: 2011-05-17
VIAVI SOLUTIONS INC
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Problems solved by technology
A problem exists for upstream path monitoring in the DOCSIS 3.0. protocol, because DOCSIS is improving the upstream path bandwidth, building in the capacity for quadrupling or more the amount of data that will be sent back to the CMTS 1 by using four data channels instead of the one or two channels currently in use.
Accordingly, the CATV upstream path is becoming more crowded, which presents a problem for return path monitoring.
If the signal crosses these thresholds, it is assumed that there is a problem on the network; unfortunately, this can lead to false prioritization for node repair.
Currently there is hardware, Filtronics model ST-260C DOCSIS 2.0 Protocol Analyzer1, that monitors the upstream signal 14, and can determine which cable modem is transmitting packets; however, in monitoring or remote applications attaching a monitoring device to every CMTS downstream thereof would be cost prohibitive.
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[0028]Monitoring MER instead of level, gives the customer more meaningful information about the health of the upstream path, i.e. a real metric of how much revenue is impacted by noise. Monitoring with levels is ambiguous and at best an educated guess as to whether the upstream signals are being impacted by noise on the system. Conventional alarms are generated and work is scheduled based on these guesses, when the noise could be completely benign to the upstream path being monitored.
[0029]Monitoring MER for each incoming packet shows the Cable Operator the customer's upstream signal quality hitting the signal splitter 3 in the CATV network headend. MER quality is a direct indicator of how the upstream signal 14 is impacted by noise. Measuring the MER multiple times per second and building statistical models for the MER will give the MSO a real actionable alarm or warning. Nodes will be prioritized based on the quality of the MODEM signal getting back to the headend. Displaying MER ...
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The problem is that a measurement of the average signal quality (average modulation error ratio), does not identify poor quality signals that may be originating from an individual cable modem. The device of the present invention displays the modulation error ratio (MER) for each packet received. Since the media access control (MAC) address is associated with a packet received from an individual cable modem, a graph displaying the MER for each packet received is also displaying the MER for signals from the individual cable modems. Thus a technician viewing the display will be able to identify whether a low MER is a result of an impairment in the network or the from an individual cable modem.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present invention claims priority from U.S. Patent Application No. 60 / 941,763 filed Jun. 4, 2007, entitled “Upstream Signal Quality Monitoring”, by Chappell, and the present invention claims priority from U.S. Patent Application No. 60 / 990,816 filed Nov. 28, 2007, entitled “Monitoring Upstream quality by using MER on a CATV network”, by Chapell et al., which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.TECHNICAL FIELD[0002]The present invention relates to monitoring and displaying dynamic quality information of TDMA carriers over time and different transmitters, and in particular to identifying impairments in the upstream channels of a CATV type bi-directional network using cable television protocols, such as DOCSIS or OCAP protocols.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]The upstream path of the current Cable Television Data-Over-Cable Service Interface Specification (CATV DOCSIS) or Open Cable Application Protocol (OCAP) communic...
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IPC IPC(8): H04L12/26
CPCH04L12/2801H04L43/16H04L43/0847H04L43/045
Inventor CHAPPELL, DANIEL K.HERING, DAVIDKUNCZT, MICHAEL J.WATTS, KELLYGRAY, ADAM D.JONES, DAVID W.
Owner VIAVI SOLUTIONS INC